The nearly 900 distinguished guests at the event also
pledged support for CPJ's Campaign Against Impunity during a special appeal
that raised more than $100,000. The John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation has generously pledged to match two-to-one
$100,000 of the funds.

The event, held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria, was hosted by
CPJ board member and PBS senior correspondent Gwen Ifill. The
ceremony paid tribute to the reporting
of Mauri König
(Gazeto do Pozo, Brazil), Mae Azango, (New
Narratives and FrontPage Africa, Liberia) as well as jailed journalists Dhondup
Wangchen (Filming for Tibet, imprisoned in China) and Azimjon
Askarov (Ferghana News, Kyrgyzstan), who were awarded in absentia. Alan Rusbridger,
editor of the Guardian, was awarded the Burton Benjamin Award for his lifetime
commitment to press freedom.

CPJ premieres new campaign

Guests at CPJ's International Press Freedom Awards dinner on
November 20 were treated to an exclusive preview of CPJ's new campaign, Speak Justice: Voices Against Impunity,
which launches officially on December 6. More than 100 guests have already signed
up to become e-advocates for the campaign.

Participation in this campaign allows advocates the
opportunity to help break the cycle of impunity by demanding justice for murdered
journalists. More than 660 journalists have been murdered since 1992 around the
world, and in 90 percent of the cases, no perpetrators have been brought to
justice. This silencing message fosters self-censorship and weakens the ability
of the press to hold governments to account.

The campaign is powered by CPJ in collaboration with global
and local partner organizations as well as concerned individuals. Speak Justice
is underwritten by The John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation and supported by individual donations from
people like you.

Our dedicated website, www.speakjusticenow.org, will
feature interactive maps and an infographic video showing that journalists
murdered around the world were primarily covering politics, corruption,
conflict, crime, and human rights--all issues of vital concern to any citizen.
Check out the website, sign up for updates, and lend your voice by becoming an
e-advocate today.

A global appeal for jailed journalists

Two online petitions by CPJ calling for the release of two
jailed journalists, both 2012 press freedom award winners, have attracted more
than 11,000 signatures. Dhondup
Wangchen, a Tibetan journalist imprisoned in China, and Azimjon
Askarov, a Kyrgyz journalist serving a life term, were both unable to
receive their awards at the dinner this year.

CPJ will present the petitions to the Kyrgyz and Chinese
governments on December 10, along with the message that journalists around the
world should not be silenced or subject to reprisal. Click here
to add your name to the Wangchen petition, and here
for the Askarov petition.

CPJ will continue to advocate for Wangchen and Askarov's
release until they are free and able to receive their awards in person.

CPJ delegation meets Turkish official

A second CPJ delegation met with Turkish officials this
month to push them to review the cases of jailed journalists in the country.
The meeting followed a special
report issued by CPJ in October that included a case-by-case review of
imprisoned Turkish journalists.

CPJ board member Kati Marton led the discussion with Sadullah
Ergin, Turkey's minister of justice. Marton noted in a subsequent CPJ
blog that the closest Ergin came to admitting that Turkey had a press
freedom problem was saying that a reform of the anti-terror law due at the end
of this year would improve the climate for journalists.

Otherwise, Marton said, "For one and a half hours, [Ergin] stubbornly disputed our report on his
country's jailed journalists." The official also refused to address specific
cases of jailed journalists, instead saying that Turkish reporters were
"terrorists in disguise," she said.

CPJ's report has been featured widely in Turkish and
international media. The overall response, though mostly positive,
has also sparked public debate, which CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon
addressed in a blog
post last month. In CPJ's first
delegation to the country, representatives met with prominent journalists,
including investigative reporters Ahmet Şık and Nedim Şener, and gave several
interviews to local and international media.

Weighing in on Sri Lanka's anti-press climate

CPJ joined other press freedom and human rights groups in
submitting a report
on the deteriorating media environment in Sri Lanka to the 12th session of the
Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review.

The report, which included research and recommendations, was
reviewed by the United
Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on November 1 and found that the
climate in Sri Lanka was hostile and detrimental to Sri Lankans' right to
information. The report also highlighted the free press recommendations submitted
by key press freedom groups, which had largely been ignored by the government.

CPJ also contributed to an online campaign designed to
spread awareness about the crackdown on the Sri Lankan press. Using the
hashtags #UPR14 or #UPRLKA, local and international free press and human rights
organizations generated a mass conversation on Twitter, which was then archived
by the citizen journalism website Groundviews.

CPJ continues to monitor the deteriorating press freedom
climate in Sri Lanka and to pressure
the government to comply with international standards of press freedom.

CPJ lends voice to journalist safety

At a meeting in Vienna this month, CPJ joined other press
freedom organizations and leading
journalists in an effort to define an implementation
plan for a highly anticipated U.N.
Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists.

CPJ helped make specific recommendations to ensure the plan
would be more effective and would address impunity in the killing of
journalists along with journalist safety. CPJ and other groups had called on
U.N. member states to provide a safe environment for journalists in an October statement
to UNESCO.

Upcoming events

Look for our annual reports on journalists who have been
imprisoned or killed this year around the world. The reports will be out in
early December.

What happens to an Afghan journalist who is forced to flee
his country because he can no longer work due to the threats he has received?
And who helps when he has no resources or language skills and needs to gain
asylum in another country? CPJ's Distress Fund provides emergency grants to
journalists facing persecution for their work. Support our work and give
a gift today.